What is people analytics? A revolution in people management

People analytics is a methodology that uses technological solutions to improve employee performance and, consequently, company results.

The impact of using data in project management is also having effects on people management through the collection, organization and analysis of behavioral data (among others!), with a focus on productivity and a healthy work environment .

With this article, you will better understand how this digital transformation works in managing your company's most precious resources : people .

Let's explain:

• what is people analytics and how it came about;
• what are the advantages of using big data in people management;
• and how to apply people analytics in your company’s people management .

Good reading!

What is people analytics?

People analytics is a methodology that has been revolutionizing the area of ​human resources (HR) through the practice of collecting organizational data (from employees, teams and the company) to generate value through this information.

Thus, the human resources sector optimizes decision-making and reduces several errors in people management.

Ideally, the people analytics methodology should be present from the moment talent is selected. This way, it becomes easier to prevent scenarios and avoid risky situations .

How does people analytics work in practice?

You should know that content transmission services (streaming), such as Netflix , for example, recommend their products based on the history of actions carried out by a specific person , meaning that the suggestions make sense to them and are not offered randomly.

This same technology, which relies on artificial intelligence (AI), is being used to identify, analyze and predict employee behavior trends in a company, as well as to measure their satisfaction. This includes the current approach to defining a company's working model: who can be flexible enough to work entirely from home and who cannot?

It is worth remembering that this process does not replace the human eye , but complements it by pointing out probabilities - and never definitive or absolute information. 😉

How did people analytics come about?

People analytics is a methodology that uses technological solutions to improve employee performance and, consequently, company results.

And the company that took the first step in this direction was Google .

As the volume of data grew extraordinarily , especially after the transformation of bytes into petabytes , this multinational giant realized the value of analyzing specific information about the people who make up its team.

Thinking about how to maintain a high-performance team , Google defined certain standards and criteria both for hiring new talent and for understanding the behavior of these people:

• what motivates them?
• what is unsatisfactory for them?
• How do they relate to their leaders?

Logically, the answer to these questions came from data analysis .

What are the advantages of using people analytics?

With the use of data in people management , the HR sector gains many advantages, such as:

• ease of creating a career plan alongside the person hired; It is
• assertiveness to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or relocating talent.

Furthermore, the people analytics methodology directly impacts people's relationships with the company, opening up spaces for dialogue and exchange.

Using people analytics in recruitment and selection processes also helps to define profiles that best fit the vacancy and connect with the company's culture .

During training and development , this methodology helps identify skills that can be developed.

In terms of benefits , it helps in choosing the type of health plan, for example, using data such as marital status information, number of children, etc.

When it comes to creating actions for the quality of life of employees, the use of people analytics takes into account data such as age, physical fitness, habits, preferences and even dietary restrictions.

All decisions are more assertive when we have analyzed information to use as a basis. And with people management this should be no different.

People analytics: big data in people management

When we talk about a large amount of data , we talk about big data , a concept that encompasses the collection and storage of data in enormous volumes , structured or not, from one or more sources.

By applying big data to people management , HR processes become more reliable due to the quality of information that can be used to develop the team of employees and the company itself.

As with other data analysis processes , people analytics has four types of analysis that can be carried out for different purposes. See below.

• Descriptive analysis : answers “what happened?” , based on past and current data.
• Diagnostic analysis : answers “why did this happen?” , searching for the causes and components of the problem.
• Predictive analytics : answers “based on this, what could happen?” , analyzing the past and taking the context into account.
• Prescriptive analytics : answers “what could happen if we continue like this?” , raising hypotheses based on the analyzed data.

The possibilities for using big data in people management through people analytics are countless, as are its advantages! Next, find out how to get started.

How to implement people analytics?

Let's go back to our example.

The whole idea of ​​people analytics arose from the need to increase the efficiency of the recruitment team without growing the team. Thus, Google developed technology that analyzes candidate data and predicts the best options for the company.

It’s no surprise that people analytics is already a big trend in people management today.

Therefore, we created a step-by-step guide for you to follow and start implementing people analytics in your company. Check out!

1 – Set your goal

Identify the main problems that the human resources sector or company is facing, and define what needs to be resolved, always based on data.

2 - Collect the data

Know which points to focus on when collecting employee data. At this stage, it is important to have a minimum base of analytics and the assistance of suitable software for the task.

3 - Have metrics and indicators

With the raw content in hand, it's time to select the metrics and indicators that will take you to your goal. This step prevents future errors.

4 - Know the future

After finding the correlations between the data, it is time for analysis and results. The idea, at this stage, is for HR to be able to predict and design future actions that were observed in the first step, when defining the objective.

With this, you already know what people analytics is, what the advantages are and what is necessary to implement this methodology. But you don't need to stop here!

Learn about people analytics com from Indicium

The difference between successful companies and others that are not so successful is mainly in how each one uses knowledge.

Come learn live from Indicium how to boost your company's productivity through people analytics solutions in HR management !

Yes, that's an invitation!

On January 27th, at 6pm , our CEO Matheus Dellagnelo will present the webinar People analytics: revolutionize people management with big data .

He will show how to implement this methodology using Indicium 's own case : come and see live how we apply people analytics here ! 😱

Don't miss it! Sign up now at this link .